Wednesday, December 10th, 2014
Overall, this was a difficult semester for me. I was in three Photo classes, a Graphic Design course, and Ethics. At the beginning of the semester, I really thought that I was going to be able to handle every creative class and accomplish everything with ease. It turns out, it was pretty difficult dealing with every single class at the same time. I found that it was somewhat difficult for me to work on three photo projects a week as well as my graphic design work. I managed to get it done, however.
SYMBOLS
During my symbols project, I had difficulty working with the software until I was able to successfully work with it. I thought the project was relatively easy once I got the hang of Illustrator. I recall making a set of various symbols and I continued working on them until I suddenly scratched out all of my ideas and then made new ones in a matter of two days. Overall, I believe I deserve an A on this assignment.
MAP
My map project was probably one of the easiest assignments that I was able to get done. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it and how I wanted it to look. I was mainly going for a simple look (outline-styled) with this map. I also wanted to stick to a particular color scheme. After the critique, I made a few minor changes and I then completed the map on time. I believe that I should have an A on this assignment.
INFO GRAPHIC
For the info graphic assignment, I did have difficulty working with the information that I had. At first, I had a set idea but I ended up switching it and then doing something completely different. I was late in turning in the actual thing and I missed the critique for this assignment. I believe that I deserve a B for this project.
MENTAL MAP
The mental map project was a project that I kept redoing over and over again. I had difficulty working on this assignment because I was also dealing with three other photo assignments at the same time. I suffered from a creative block as well. I also missed the critique that time but I still turned in the assignment on nice quality paper. I believe I deserve a B on this assignment.
Overall, I believe I deserve a B because I did miss two critiques and I turned in an assignment late.
Monday, October 6th, 2014
The overall theme for my symbols was to create a logo for a minimalistic camping store. I began the project inspired by basic shapes and mountain ranges. I have composed a listed strategy that provides a detailed look into my thought process when creating my final symbols.
Step 1
The process of brainstorming for the overall idea of creating a symbol involved me watching Twin peaks non-stop and becoming inspired by a variety of Pintrest posts. I became inspired by the simplicity of the triangle shapes and the curves of the mountain ranges. I had also researched the shapes of tents and Douglas Fir trees. I created a Pintrest board (Logos + Branding). That kept me inspired throughout the entire brainstorming process.
Step 2
The next step to creating my symbols consisted of Tracing, Stylizing, and creating Abstract shapes that would compose the final product. I had an easier time drawing everything out and I used Illustrator to create the Abstract symbols. I used images of trees, mountain ranges and tents, mainly. Below are a variety of symbols that I created in the process (along with hybrids).
Step 3
The next step was to create hybrids of the symbols in order to see what we came up with. I focused on simplicity in my design and I really wanted to concentrate more on mountains and the tent (due to the triangles). The quality level of these hybrids was pretty basic since I had started to begin to become uninspired.
Step 4
During the 4th step, I focused on creating 9 different symbols that revolved around the other concepts that I had come up with. I had so many ideas for this step but I realized that they were all way too intricate. I tried to evolve my symbols and mainly focused on mountain ranges and triangles, since thats what I was going to associate my symbol with. Below is an image of the 9 symbols I had created in the process.
Step 5
I had began simplifying the symbols that I had created in this 5th step. In the above image, I included three of the simplified symbols. I had tried to incorporate as much of what I had created originally in the final symbols themselves. At first, I had really disliked the symbols that I had created so I ended up changing them quite a bit.
Step 6
In the final step, I had my simplified symbols created and I worked on merging together all of the forms and making sure that everything would print out correctly. Below is the final product of my symbols project.
Thursday, December 12th, 2013
Thank You
I really just wanted to give thanks to all of the professors in the class and all of the presenters who have taken the time to come and talk to all of us. They all have really inspired me and encouraged me to move forward with my photography. After each class, I was left feeling as if I am really able to do something with all of this. It makes me want to go out and do more; everything. I have never been so excited for the future. I’m really lucky to be going to this school and have all of these amazing opportunities. Being a Photocommunications major at St. Edward’s University is not only fun, but it also helps me become a better photographer. I have learned so much my first semester and I have met the most amazing people. I already feel as if we are all a big family because of how close and helpful everyone is. The next semester awaits and I cannot wait.
– A
Thursday, December 12th, 2013
Kevin Russ
I wanted to share an interesting photographer that I have followed on social networking sites such as Tumblr and Instagram. Kevin Russ is a Portland-based photographer, but travels the world as well. His work really inspires me and actually influenced me to buy the editing software that he uses, VSCO Film. I have provided links to his website and a link to VSCO.
http://kevinruss.tumblr.com
http://vsco.co
Thursday, December 12th, 2013
Experience
Overall, my experience in the class has taught me several things. First, go to school. All of the presenters that would come to talk to our class really emphasized on how important schooling was for our future. The art world as an adult can be very stressful and very hard to make it in. It has made me realize that I have to put school first, before everything. At least for now. Second, networking is VERY important. It’s all about who you know and where that can get you. If you do not socialize and network, you really aren’t going to get anywhere. Being social in the art world can help you succeed and get you where you want to be. Thirdly, it is all about being yourself. Your art is a representation of you. If you do not enjoy what you do, then clearly there is something wrong. Enjoying your work makes you a happier person and it is always best to love what interests you, for your own sake.
– A
Thursday, December 12th, 2013
Joe Meiser
When Joe Meiser came to class, I became really interested in not only his work, but also what he had to say about life and goals. Like all other presentations that we’ve had in our class, the presenter emphasizes on how important it is to go through school and network in order to be successful. I do, however, want to get more out of life than just going through everything to become a professor or something of that sorts. Personally, I don’t think I would ever be able to end up being that. Recently, I have realized that I like being independent and working for myself when it comes to photography. The presentation kind of depressed me and somewhat bored me only because he went through all these experiences only to become a professor. Don’t get me wrong, it seems pretty nice to become a professor. I just do not think I want to go through everything and just end with that profession. I think I would prefer to keep going and experience being out in the world until I grow old.
– A
Thursday, November 14th, 2013
Faculty Presentations
The faculty presentations were really inspiring! My favorite was Sybil Miller (of course). I really enjoyed all the various types of projects she would work on for herself. I also found her really inspiring due to the fact that her life has just been full of adventure. In class she would always tell stories about different places that she has been to or the various people that she has worked with. Her stories make me extremely excited for the future. My favorite photo set that she has done would have to be the candid-type photographs that she took around the world. The use of film with candid pictures really make the photographs appealing to me because it reminds me of nostalgia. Film, to me, is memories. When you capture something with film (and especially wheel working with candid shots), you are capturing a moment in time, not making the photograph look extremely life-like. I also really appreciate her work because I too love the same type of style. Overall, I loved the faculty presentations because they really opened my eyes to the things that are capable of happening when I grow older. They also helped me realize that there are so many options in the future.
– A
Thursday, November 14th, 2013
Alex Robinson
I was actually really impressed with Alex Robinson’s work. I’ve noticed that there are numerous amounts of outstanding artists at St. Edwards and it’s pretty cool that our faculty is composed of them. The pieces that I loved the most out of her work were the all of the installations. Installation artwork is always super interesting, in my opinion. There was another project that she worked on that had to deal with crime in a specific community area and she tracked the statistics down. She created artwork with her data and it actually came out pretty amazing. She was also really inspiring. She never gave up on her work and she improved as time went by. She had also mentioned going an artist residency somewhere….I think…and that also seemed appealing to me. In the future I hope to do some sort of artist residency to improve my skills and just have fun. Anything dealing with art and sharing what you made with the community interests me; it just makes me excited for life.
– A
Thursday, November 14th, 2013
Spring Scheduling
Thinking about next semester kind of makes me nervous, to be completely honest. Being a Photo major is pretty swell but the workload can be immense. Throughout this semester I have learned how to somewhat manage my time. However I have had trouble managing when I have to go develop and print out my pictures. Next semester will be much better though. I plan on taking Photo II and Digital Imaging I and possibly becoming a graphic design minor. So I might as well take Typography I. I’m actually really excited for that class, as well. Although I know that it will be pretty hard managing all these art classes, I think I will be able to manage it. I think I should also consider earlier classes so I’m not in class until 5 again (anything pass 3:30 tends to make me fall asleep). All in all, I’m pretty excited for next semester’s classes since I have gotten all my basics out of the way.
– A
Friday, November 8th, 2013
Time Management
Scheduling has always been a big part of my life. Just being organized has helped me out more than any way possible. I really think that if I am able to schedule something out (especially on paper or on a calendar) I will be able to get everything done that I need to do in a fast, orderly fashion. There have been times where I basically screw up on scheduling and everything basically comes crashing down, but I’ve luckily managed to work back up to being back on track. Since moving to Austin and starting college, I have actually seen myself doing more scheduling than I ever have done before. It’s so different than from high school…everything is much more serious and the time that I have has become so much more precious. It seems like I never have time anymore to just lay around and do nothing. From being in the photo lab to actually going out and doing shoots, I never have time to mess around anymore. My life, in school and socially, has taken over me. I have, however, learned how to manage it and I will continue to do so. I had tracked my time during the week and I realized that I do need to make some adjustments to my schedule in order to do everything that I want to do during the week.
– A
